New Year - New Goals

It was a beautiful day today. It was sunny and not too cold, so the husband and I took E and the dogs out for a walk to enjoy the day and just get out of the house for a while. We live just outside a small historic town. There is this bike path that follows the creek and the scenery there is beautiful no matter the season. There is even a small waterfall a little off the path.

After we got back I cooked dinner and we sat down to watch a movie together "Mom's Night Out." If you haven't seen it I highly recommend it. I related to the movie for a lot of reasons but a big theme is that we mothers are too hard on ourselves. We stress ourselves out to the point that we are almost depressed about being a failure. I personally get so stressed out that it puts me just that much closer to the edge of my patience and I end up getting upset with my kids that much easier. So while I don't think this is a New Years resolution so much as wake up call that I need to change some things. I want to work on me and make changes to make myself happier because I am the only on who can. So this is the direction I'm taking my blog and if along the way while you are reading this and it amuses you or inspires you then I'm glad I shared my crazy life with you.

OMG Bacon Blue Burgers

Let me set the scene for you. Beautiful sunny day nice and warm but not unbearably hot. Sounds fantastic right? Now what do I want to cook for dinner. Of course I want to use my grill and what could be better than burgers? Now here is the fun part..... I love to mix things up and try new things and that's what I did with these and they were absolutely mouthwatering ....

First off I took 2lbs of ground beef and mixed in season salt, garlic pepper, mesquite seasoning, A-1 and Worcestershire sauce. (measurements below)

Then I formed the patties make sure they are thick and wide so they don't shrink up while cooking. About this time you want to start up the grill and get it heated up. I set mine to medium.

Now scoop out a good size portion in the center of the patties but make sure not to go all the way through and place  about a 1 1/2 tsp. of the blue cheese butter (recipe below) and then cover with the meat you scooped out so that it is completely sealed in

 

 

Now you want to place the burgers on the heated grill and cook 5 mins on each side  until well done. while they are cooking DO NOT press down on them!!!! While these were cooking I went ahead and cooked some bacon as well to really top of the flavor

 

Now just put on a bun with desired condiments and and ENJOY!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Burger Seasoning

 

1/4 tsp. of Mesquite Seasoning

1/2 tsp of

      Season Salt

      Garlic Pepper

1 1/2 TBSP of

         Worcestershire

          A-1 sauce

 

Blue Cheese Butter

 

2 garlic minced                          

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon steak seasoning

1/4 teaspoon other seasoning salt

1/4 cup butter

1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese

 

 



Blackened Tilapia

A couple of weeks ago I tried a new recipe for tilapia and made it again tonight and both times it was fantastic. C said it was his favorite way I've made tilapia so far even my little 6 yr enjoyed it. I personally love the flavor of Cajun seasoning so anytime I can find a recipe to use it I am all over it. This recipe is absurdly easy and produces delicious results.

½ Teaspoon Paprika
¼ Teaspoon Seasoning Salt
½ Teaspoon Cajun Season
¼ Teaspoon Garlic Pepper
¼ Teaspoon Cumin
4. Tilapia Filets
1 ½ Tablespoons Olive Oil

1.) Combine all dry ingredients in a small bowl mix with a fork

2.) Heat oil in large skillet over medium high heat

3.) Pat fish dry and sprinkle evenly with seasoning on both sides

4.) Once oil is hot place fish in skillet and cook 5 mins on each side. Cook more on each side for crisper fish (just as a side note when flipping the fillets be gentle as tilapia flakes very easily.)

5.) Enjoy!!! That's it simple right =D


Now my family usually has rice when we have fish because it goes so well together. If it suits you as well then here is an easy way to spice up instant rice instead of boiling water use chicken or beef broth (I use chicken with fish.) When you add the rice add a little soy sauce and about ¼ tsp. of ginger. Let sit for about 6 mins until the broth is soaked up by the rice.


Hope you love this recipe as much as I did. Please let me know if you changed anything or how the recipe turned out for you.

Cordon Bleu Pasta

So today for dinner I decide to try a recipe that I found on pintrest posted from Amy's new Kitchen

I changed a few things and the overall effect was good there are a few things I'll change the next time I make it.

First off I just used chicken tenderloins and cut them up smaller. Place the chicken in a skillet with a little evoo. Sauté for about 1min then I added season salt, parsley, basil and oregano. Add about 1/3c. Chicken broth put the lid on and let cook on med heat for about 5min. while this was cooking I had the water on for the pasta and I fried up some bacon (My guys LOVE bacon). I followed the recipe (below) for the rest except I omitted the onion and cayenne pepper and I switched the Swiss cheese for mozzarella. Like I said it turned out pretty good but next time I'll add more milk or maybe some cream to make it creamier and add mushrooms to the chicken while it's cooking.


Pasta Cordon Bleu
Recipe courtesy of Dunne at With a Cherry on Top
Serves 6

1 lb. Pasta (I used penne-you could use any fun shaped pasta)
1 cup Chicken Breasts, cooked and cubed
1 cup Ham, cooked and cubed
1 1/2 cups Milk
8 oz. Cream Cheese (softened)
2 Tbsp. Dried Minced Onion
2 cups Swiss Cheese, shredded
Salt
Pepper
Cayenne Pepper
1 cup Panko Crumbs
1/2 cup Butter, melted



Bring a large pot of water to a boil over med-high heat. Salt it and add the pasta; cook until al dente (about 11 minutes-I used whole wheat pasta which takes a bit longer than regular pasta). Drain and return to the pot. Add in the chicken and ham and toss to combine.

Preheat the broiler. In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, cream cheese and minced onion over low-medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until it becomes a smooth texture (about 5 minutes). Stir into the pasta mixture. Stir in the Swiss cheese and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Transfer pasta to a baking dish and top with Panko crumbs. Pour melted butter over crumbs and broil until browned (I gave it 4 minutes